Updated November 2019
The Joy of Initial and Brief Interactions
Of the many faculty I have met in office visits, an overwhelming majority have expressed a positive response to my contact. It has been a joy to begin an acquaintance and these interactions have been a highlight of my staff work.
Purpose of Engaging with Faculty
I don’t start the acquaintance with the expectation of becoming a close friend or helping academically or professionally. I want to connect with and resource faculty in areas of life which are important to God and relevant to them.
My goals for faculty in their personal lives are that they may:
- Develop and strengthen their personal relationship with God
- Love God with their mind and understand the academic world as a calling
- Increasingly come under the Lordship of Christ
- Flourish in all parts of life (work, family, church, stewardship of resources, etc.)
- Be faithful in their work and achieve tenure when possible
My goals for faculty within the university community are that they will:
- Regularly use and share our resources
- Embrace InterVarsity’s vision for “faculty to flourish and be a redeeming influence among the people, ideas, and structures of higher education”
- Become people of hospitality
- Develop faculty prayer groups
- Develop a Christian Faculty Community which is locally and missionally focused on their campus
But how do we begin? What does the initial visit look like?
I want to begin to build a connection with them and to:
- learn
- be a blessing
- encourage
- stimulate their vision of calling to university
- network them to others on campus and beyond
- get them acquainted with and attached to the IV Faculty Ministry resources
- invite to local, area/regional, and national gatherings
I try to always leave them with something, such as:
- sincere words of encouragement
- 1/3 sheet printed prayer or bookmark
- printed materials
- books/booklets
- Note: I don’t leave things under their door or in their mailbox until I have had one or two face-to-face encounters. If I do leave them with something, I attach my business card and/or a note. It takes time for them to remember me and begin to understand who I am and why I’m interrupting their precious time.
Follow-Up Visits
As a relationship develops, it is important to listen. Faculty are individuals and have individual needs. My purpose is to discern where they are and provide resources that may help them advance in needed areas.
More Examples of What You Could Leave
Many great items are available on the InterVarsity Staff Store. Here are some examples of InterVarsity items, as well as other suggestions.
1. Sincere word of encouragement:
- thanks for allowing me to interrupt
- gratefulness for knowing they are called to this campus
- prayer
- leaving a note or encouraging words
2. 1/3 sheet or bookmark:
3. 3-Fold or one sheet (My primary resource for these is the Faculty Ministry website and The Lamp Post. I print out in color. I don’t expect many faculty to go to websites on their own, especially in initial stages of relating to them.):
Getting in Touch and Staying Connected
Manage your faculty contacts using additional tools. I use these to help me manage multiple faculty contacts and multiple schools:
Send a short email. I recommend keeping it simple, one screen’s worth, and no more than one request, per email. If they know you or InterVarsity, they’ll read them.
What about you?
What have you done on your campus visits to faculty? We would love to learn from your experiences and share with other staff ideas for successful relationship-building. Tell us about your favorite resources in the comments section below. May God bless your ministry today and your investment of time into the lives of faculty.
